GUILFORD – “Nice” and “sweet” might not be the words most people would choose to describe a teenage boy, but for Kerry Nesbitt there is no other way to describe the actions of her 15-year old neighbor, Dalton Johnson.

Nesbitt’s life took a sudden turn in mid-April when she suffered an aortic aneurysm. After 17 weeks of hospital stays and rehabilitation, the once active 38-year old is finally home, but her recovery is far from over.

“I’m paralyzed from the chest down,” explained Nesbitt, as a result of what she called an “incomplete spinal chord injury,” which allows some movement. She has about a 50/50 chance of walking again, she said, but for the time being she must use a wheelchair to get around.

To accommodate her currently limited mobility, Nesbitt said she and her husband Darrin have had to add an addition on their house, refit their bathroom to make it accessible and greatly change their routine.

While she once handled most of the daily chores on the couple’s 15-acre dairy farm, Darrin now juggles milking and caring for their herd of 70 Ayrshires along with his day job selling feed. He also helps with her care.

“It’s a long day for him,” she said.

Throughout their ordeal and as they adjust to the drastic changes in their lives, the Nesbitt’s have had the support of other farm families in the community.

“In the beginning, they all brought food,” she explained. Those same neighbors also held fundraisers to help pay for some of the work that needed to be done on the house.